Constellations
by lareinaSelena
Summary: Teyla and Elizabeth have a conversation under the stars of Atlantis. Set early first season.


Disclaimer: Trust me, if I owned them, two things would not be: there would be no Woolsey currently in charge, and I would not be broke. I'm just playing with them, I promise to put them back when I'm done!

A/N: So here I am, venturing into Atlantis fanfic! I was only recently introduced to the Stargate world, but I'm already a nutty fan! This is just a little one-shot that begged me to write it, sometime after I saw "Hide and Seek" and "Suspicion". Many many thanks to the fabulous sbz for beta-ing!! Ok, you know the drill – positive reviews make me happy, flames will be used for s'mores!! Mmmmmm . . . . .

Constellations

Night fell softly over the city of Atlantis, wrapping the towers in a deep blue glow before fading into a black to rival the depths of space. Inside, a profound quiet permeated the halls, as the night shift went about their duties and everyone else slept. As she wandered the halls, Teyla found herself humming a lullaby her father had used to lull her to sleep as a child. Sadly, it had lost its power as she grew up, and the result was this – roaming the corridors of the City of the Ancestors, seeking the peace that had been so easy to find among the forests of her home. At least it had been easy, before the arrival of the Earth expedition that had woken the Wraith from their sleep and brought them forth to cull their feeding worlds once again. Not that Teyla held any blame for Dr. Weir and her team; the Wraith would have woken again whether they had come or not, and at least now her people had some measure of safety from them.

The hallways were shadowed and dark, lacking the reassuring glow of the stars. Teyla turned and headed for the balcony just off the gate room, hoping a view of the city and surrounding ocean would be enough to quiet her mind and allow her to sleep. When the doors slid open, she was surprised to find someone there ahead of her. Elizabeth Weir was leaning against one of the balcony supports, her dark grey shirt and complete stillness making her all but invisible as she stared out across the water. Teyla opened her mouth to apologize for disturbing the other woman, but realized her entrance had gone unnoticed. Intending to leave the expedition leader to her own search for peace, she turned back to the doors.

"Stay Teyla, please?" Dr. Weir's voice was barely above a whisper, but in the absolute stillness of the night air she may as well have shouted. Turning, Teyla moved to stand beside her at the balcony, carefully scrutinizing the older woman as she did so. Dr. Weir's eyes were focused on the stars, but Teyla could tell that she wasn't really seeing them. There was a lost look on her face that unsettled Teyla greatly; she wasn't used to seeing uncertainty or hesitation of any kind from this woman, who had always seemed to be in control of everything around her. Thrown off balance by this revelation, Teyla again felt the desire to go, to remove her intrusion into what was obviously a very private moment.

"I . . . apologize, Dr. Weir," she began softly, not wanting to disturb the almost reverent silence that hung over the balcony. "Recent events have troubled my mind, and I was unable to sleep. I was merely searching for a quiet place to order my thoughts. I did not mean to disturb you; I will go."

"No – stay, please. I've been alone long enough, I think." Dark eyes turned from the stars finally to meet Teyla's, a hint of amusement lurking in their depths. "And since neither of us is on duty right now, Teyla, please call me Elizabeth." The amusement faded quickly back into the lost look she'd had before, and Teyla felt her heart reach out to it.

"What troubles you, Elizabeth?" The words slipped out before she could stop them, bolder than she would have liked but no less sincere. As leader of the Atlantis expedition, Elizabeth Weir carried a heavy burden, one that no one under her command was likely to understand. Teyla had carried that burden herself for many years, since her father's death, and knew well the sense of isolation that came with it.

Elizabeth shook her head, a wry grimace tugging at her lips. "It's such a silly thing, really. I couldn't sleep, and so I came out here to look at the stars. I used to do it all the time back on Earth, and so I started looking for our constellations without even thinking about it. It took me a few minutes to realize that they aren't there." Standing so near, Teyla could see the tears that Elizabeth was trying to hold back. "Do your people have constellations, Teyla? Do the stars here make any shapes or figures that your ancestors made up stories about?"

"Sadly, my people never had much time to gaze idly at the night sky," Teyla admitted with a sigh. "Only when the Wraith attacked were the stars of much interest. We have traditionally kept our primary focus on our families, making the most of whatever time we had together."

"That sounds nice," Elizabeth mused. "You all seem very close; it must be difficult staying here, with all the rest of your people moving to the mainland."

Teyla rested her arms on the balcony railing, letting the breeze play with her hair as she considered her answer. "It has been a bit of an adjustment," she admitted. "But I find that many people have made the transition easier. John, Aiden – even Dr. McKay, strangely – have become almost a new family for me. I am very grateful to have them."

Elizabeth was silent for a long time; the mask that she wore during the day as expedition leader was completely gone here, and Teyla watched a wide variety of emotions play over her face, produced by thoughts that Teyla could only guess at. "I need to apologize to you," she said finally. "I haven't treated your people fairly since our arrival here. You welcomed us in friendship, and we repaid you with suspicion and mistrust. Not to mention waking the Wraith prematurely, and in far greater numbers than normal."

Teyla blinked in surprise; whatever she had been expecting when Elizabeth asked for her company, this had been no part of it. "The Wraith would have woken again with or without your arrival," she said firmly, forcing an air of confidence into her voice to cover the confusion. "Your people saved many of mine from being fed upon, and brought us here when you had no reason to do so. You have barely enough resources for your own people, and yet you have shared freely with mine. I, and all my people, would have been wiped out by the Wraith if not for you and yours, and we will always be grateful for what you have done."

"And yet, when things go wrong, we cast blame on you and refuse to let you help us, as friends should," Elizabeth countered, a bitter grimace twisting her lips. "We wouldn't let you help search for Jinto when he was lost, and we treated you like criminals when the Wraith were tracking us."

"Why did you do those things?" Teyla questioned, turning to face Elizabeth. She truly put no blame on anyone in the Atlantis expedition for those events, which had taken place while they and the Athosians were still finding their footing with each other. She understood, however, that those missteps were still weighing heavily on Elizabeth's mind, and was determined to help her friend find peace.

"Fear," Elizabeth whispered, as the tears she'd been fighting finally broke free and slid down her face. "We're three million light years from home; do you have any idea how scared we are, Teyla? We didn't know what we would find when we stepped through the Stargate that first time, but we were pretty sure it would be a one-way trip. And it is, at least until we can find more ZPMs to power the city with. We can't even get a message back home; our families have no idea where we are, and they won't even know if we live or die. To be so far from home – we're all terrified, and so . . ."

". . . and so, you cling to the familiar, with all your strength," Teyla finished, feeling comprehension dawn as she listened. "It was the same for my people, long ago," she continued, meeting Elizabeth's surprised glance with reassurance. "The stories say that we were a settled people once, before the Wraith. We became nomadic out of necessity, moving constantly to try and avoid the cullings. To be uprooted so often caused much fear, so my people drew inward for a long time, focusing on their families and trading only rarely. It took time for us to become comfortable in our new lives, but we did, and now we trade widely among the worlds of this galaxy. We found our footing, with time, and I have no doubt that you and your people will do the same."

"How do you know?" Elizabeth whispered, her wide eyes searching Teyla's face as if to find the answer there.

Smiling, Teyla reached out and took Elizabeth's hands in hers. "Because you are among friends," she said firmly. "And what kind of friends would we be, if we did not help you find your way when you are lost?" She squeezed Elizabeth's hands firmly, and was heartened to feel the other woman squeeze back with equal force.

"Thank you, Teyla." Elizabeth's voice was calm and steady, and her face showed a determination that had been fading in recent days. "I think I can sleep, now." She turned and headed back into the gate room, pausing as the doors slid open. "Don't stay out here too long," she advised, a smile tugging at the corners of her mouth. "We have a lot to do tomorrow."

The doors closed softly behind her as Teyla turned to contemplate the ocean once more. As she thought over her conversation with Elizabeth, her eyes wandered upwards to the stars, and she suddenly found herself looking for patterns and shapes in the night sky.


End file.
